Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo watched in street clothes as the Heat came up short against the Knicks in New York in Emirates Cup group play. The hosts were without Jalen Brunson, but Karl-Anthony Towns got the extra touches, rampaging for a half, until Landry Shamet, of all people, clobbered coverages.

Towns fried schemes in the first quarter for 18 digits. But the Heat countered, making seven 3-pointers in 11 tries, multiple belonging to Norman Powell. The reserves also picked up the slack when he rested as the half-court and transition attack thrived, pushing the crew to a 35-32 lead.

Knicks forward OG Anunoby couldn’t continue after straining his hamstring in five first-quarter minutes, yet his team continued to shred Miami’s half-court defense without him. They took a 78-68 lead going into halftime, mostly because Towns had no conscience, even extending his output to 31, including six 3-pointers. Jordan Clarkson added 13 points off the bench, too.

The Heat saw some resistance from New York’s zone, but they finessed their way to the line and got to the heart of the defense eight times, plus nailed three 3-pointers. Seven of them logged multiple field goals by intermission, but Powell (5) and Kel’el Ware (4) led the unit. 

They subsequently traded baskets and free throws, unable to close the gap until Pelle Larson made two corner treys and Davion Mitchell three extra free throws. Josh Hart picked up his fourth foul, bringing Mikal Bridges back in, and New York’s defense started to show signs of wear and tear. Mitchell Robinson picked up his fifth penalty, and they flashed more of their zone.

The fourth quarter’s start was a disaster for the Heat, giving up multiple offensive rebounds, fouling Shamet on a 3-point attempt, and giving up a Bridges pick-6 as they went cold, going down 14 points with nine-and-a-half minutes left. The visitors were never able to get back within striking distance despite Powell, making floaters and deep shots.

The Heat lost 142-130. Powell had 38 points, including eight 3-pointers, and Jaquez logged 23 digit on 45% shooting.

New York tallied 113.3 points per 100 half-court, good enough for the 90th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass.

Coach Erik Spolestra said, “We just have to collectively do better. We understand what it is. So now we’re going to get to work. We know what we have to correct. Is it easy? No.”

Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said before the match that it wasn’t the same team his Cavaliers wiped out by a combined 122 points through four playoff games, and the Heatles proved his point by pantsing them minus their two All-Stars (Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro). Miami’s streak at home extended to 5-0

Cleveland boat raced the hosts in the first five minutes, forcing coach Erik Spoelstra to call a timeout after a 15-5 hole. Subsequently, the Jaime Jaquez Jr. show began, igniting the crew with drive-bys and kick-outs in the half-court, helping them cut the deficit down to five.

The defense then neutralized the Cavs to 32% shooting by staying at the hip on drives and helping promptly. Meanwhile, they kept attacking in sixth gear, racing down the court for shots to the body and from 3-point range. Norman Powell also added seven free throws, assisting in cutting off the flow for the Cavs by stopping the clock and making them check the ball in.

They went to halftime ahead 62-53. Powell led all scorers with 18 digits while Jaquez (7) and Kel’el Ware racked up the most rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell finally erupted in the third quarter, slicing through schemes, and the Heat’s transition defense slipped, giving up multiple treys as the Cavs only cut it to six. The Heat also broke out a zone, and on the other side, Ware blasted the interior thrice, and they triggered the bonus for the last seven minutes and change, taking 18 more free throws, making 17. On top of that, Wiggins added a transition strike and buried an up top 3-pointer.

The Heat went into the fourth quarter ahead by nine, while the Cavs were without Atkinson because he was ejected after receiving his second technical foul while Mitchell was at the line with 32 seconds left of the third.

Despite Mitchell making one shot in seven tries, the Heat’s pressure faltered down the stretch as the Cavaliers had them on the back foot after nailing seven 3-pointers, four of them belonging to Sam Merrill. Jaquez had to bail the out with a spin through the lane, making a floater to force over time.

It took the Heat putting them in a scramble with an elevator set design by assistant coach Chris Quinn. He set up Nikola Jović on a sideline out of bounds for a lob to Wiggins cutting through the middle unchallenged to win the game. He got loose by the screen that Davion Mitchell set for De’Andre Hunter. Later Spoelstra said “I’ve had that play on my card listed as CQ for four years. When it got to that point, Quinny said we should run that. I said, you know what, there’s no better person to diagram it than the one who came up with the thing.”

The final score was 140-138. The Heat had seven double-digit scores and took 41 free throws, making 36. Notably, Jaquez had a Herculean impact off the bench, dropping 22 points on 58.3% shooting, with 12 rebounds and seven dimes. Additionally, their half-court attack wasn’t as strong, but they were able to put up 104 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 74th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass, and they improved to 7-4.

Powell joked after the game, “Wiggs turned back the clock a little bit,” and Spoelstra said Ware had the best night of his career.

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The Heat will play the Cavaliers again on Wednesday.

Despite 19 lead changes and 11 ties, the undermanned Heat took out the Trail Blazers on the second night of a back-to-back, improving to 6-4. Seven Heatles scored in double figures, and Nikola Jović had his best showing in a Heat uniform, setting a new career high of 29 points.

Coach Erik Spoelstra elaborated on some of the strategy post-game, saying,  “I’m managing the heck out of the spacing, to create those drives. But I’m not putting the brakes on anyone who is attacking.”

Portland’s length gave Miami trouble early, not permitting easy access into the lane and they forced Spoelstra to call the first timeout after taking a 15-3 lead. The Heat didn’t recalibrate until Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the bench crew came in, and they prevented the team from early embarrassment with multiple drive-bys and five steals, including a pick-6 in opposing territory, cutting the deficit to three going into the second quarter.

Rebounding out of the zone against bigger rivals was a struggle, and high-enough pick-up points weren’t set on shooters, but they made up for it, forcing six extra turnovers. The Heat also converted 77% of attempts in the period with near-immaculate shooting in the lane from punching the accelerator in transition and ripping up the half-court.

The Heatles went to intermission ahead 72-65 after making only one shot in their first 15 attempts. Nikola Jović led them in assists (6), and their double-digit scorers were Dru Smith (10), Andrew Wiggins (12) and Pelle Larsson (10).

Subsequently, Deni Avdija plus Jrue Holiday’s rim attacks sullied schemes, but Toumani Camara walking into triple forced the first stoppage of the half. Jaquez checked in, and the Heat regained control just like in the first half off transition strikes and setting up teammates, including a lob to Kel’el Ware.

The fourth quarter started with the Heat ahead 100-97, and 10 lead changes followed. Shaedon Sharpe sliced into lane thrice, and Avdija buried a trey. But Jović stepped up for the Heat, making two 3-pointers and two close-range baskets on the move. Jaquez joked in the locker room that Jović should have dropped 30.

In the latter stages of the fourth, Jerami Grant fouled out, and Clingan checked in, and the Heat’s strategy was briefly using Wiggins at the five before switching back to Jović at the next substitution. The Heat were then up five points with under a minute left, and got bailed out by Holiday missing a triple after Jaquez bit on his pump fake and they doubled at the arc. The final nail in Portland’s coffin was Avdija taking a shot at the rim instead of pulling up from deep.

The Heat won 136-131. They had an advantage in paint points (72-68) and were able to slow down the Trail Blazers in the half-court to 77.5 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the Cleaning the Glass.

The Heat’s road trip through four cities concluded in Denver with a loss, and their losing streak against them climbed to 11 in a row. They stayed longer in the zone because Bam Adebayo left early with a left foot injury, resulting in the defense being unable to hang in the second half without its anchor, and they were massacred on the glass.

Coach Erik Spoelstra said that even without Adebayo, the team had a chance to win, but Denver’s cutting, rebounding and relief points were the difference.

The Heat’s horsepower had the Nuggets on a treadmill early, and Norman Powell kept getting to the line and splashing treys, but they trailed by three going into the second quarter. The Nuggets traded inside baskets on screen rolls and hard drives, plus loosened up Miami’s defense with five offensive rebounds that resulted in five second-chance points. The hosts also went to a zone multiple times, and the Heat broke out their own when Jonas Valančiūnas checked in. 

Bam Adebayo hurt himself, stepping on Cam Johnson’s foot on a handoff play, so Ware and Nikola Jović got extra time at the five. They were most vulnerable when the latter was the center, so Keshad Johnson guarded Jokić, but it looked like someone checking their overgrown brother. Jokić was able to get loose on tip-ins and close-range attacks in the half-court plus transition. Aaron Gordon also overpowered and maneuvered around his matchup on multiple rim strikes and nailed a trifecta for 17 points.

The Nuggets’ 3-point attack wasn’t a factor, yet their transition defense slowed down the Heat’s open-court attack, and their assault on the glass created a 40-19 advantage in the first half. 

The Heat were down 68-60 at halftime following eight ties and 11 lead changes. Jaime Jaquez Jr. gave them a shot in the arm with his drive-bys into the lane, but he was their only threat off the bench.

Even with Andrew Wiggins making five of his nine field goals in the second half, the Heat subsequently didn’t have enough firepower and had trouble guarding without their defensive anchor and the communication suffered as well, giving up multiple back door cuts. They fell behind by 12 and got as close as seven before going down another 14 points. Much of the sequence looked like a Camry trying to catch up to a Jaguar. 

Jokić broke through the schemes twice more and exposed openings with his passing. “Jokić manages every aspect of the game… he knows intuitively when those swing moments are when there’s an opportunity to take a six [to] eight point lead and push it to 12 and 14,” Spoelstra said.

Despite the Heat making three up-top triples and four shots in the restricted area in the fourth quarter, Denver kept them at arm’s length by getting what they wanted in the interior.

The Heat lost 122-112, while getting stomped in two key areas: paint points (62-42) and second chance points (22-8).  Regarding the challenge of guarding Jokić, Powell said, “It’s all about communication and limiting those relief point, like we call them. But it’s tough because we take away the cuts, and those guys cutting end up being offensive rebounders.”

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The Heat’s next four games are at home against the Charlotte Hornets (Friday), Portland Trail Blazers (Saturday) and twice against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a miniseries (Nov. 10, Nov. 12).